Aerial bomb



Det; 13; 1938. N N BOQKER i 2,139,665

AERIAL BOMB original Filed Nov. 7, 19:54 2 sheets-sheet 1 INVIJNTORh NoeMA/v BooKEZ N. N. BOOKER Dec. 13, 1938.

AERIAL BOMB Original Filed NOV. '7; 1934 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR:

Noem/v N 50o/ 52.

ATToRNY Patented Dec. 13,1938

Norman N. Booker, v gimme-tenths to Bise l.

' aliases Pa., assignor ,Phlladelphi,

'e (otros-2) This invention relates to aerial bombs for penetration and demolition, and has for an object to provide improved structures for guiding and directing the bombs.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved means for producing detonation.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved means for locking the various detonating devices against accidental discharge prior to launching from an airplane or the like.

A further object of the invention is to provide improved means coasting with the aircraft for maintaining the bombs in inactive condition.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved type of streamlining for bombs, whereby the descent in the drop is accelerated.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved type of bomb having an initial discharge of an explosive, thereby projecting a second missile to a further distance intended for penetrating purposes, saidsecond missile being provided with means for subsequently igniting and exploding for demolition purposes.

A further object oi' the invention is to provide a bomb with ns serving for guiding and stabilizing with improved structure for cambering the ns to provide a whirling action of the bomb bodily upon its longitude.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved type of gyroscope connected with the bomb, with propeller means actuated by the descent for driving the gyroscope for stabilizing the trajectory of the bom 'Ihe invention, therefore, comprises a bomb body having a charge of explosive mounted therein, with a second body projected from the rst mentioned or main body by the said explosion, said second body having an explosive charge therein adapted to be ignited subsequent to its discharge from the main body, either by the ilrst mentioned explosion, or by impact, said body being provided with fins at its normally rear end, Vin one instance, the ins being provided with means for cambering to an angle to provide a rotary action of the bomb upon its major axis during its descent, and in another instance, a similar eect produced by a gyroscope located in the rear of said bomb, controlled by a propeller at the rear of said bomb, said gyroscope tending to stabilize the line of travel,l and with improved means for igniting initially the main charge in the body of the bomb to propel therefrom the secondary explosive body for penetration and demolition purposes.

The drawings illustrate several embodiments` of the invention, and the views therein are as follows:

Figure 1 is a view in longitudinal diametrlcal section through one type of bomb,

Figure 2 is an enlarged detailed View o! that g part of the bomb shown at-Figure 1, enclosed within the circle 2,

Figure 3 is a view of the bomb shown at Figure l: end elevation is indicated at arrow 8 at Figure 1, y l

Figure 4 is'a view in side elevation of the vanes in the type shown at Figure l, after being cambered to produce rotary action of the bomb dur4 ing descent,

Figure 5 is a view in detailed side elevation, of one of the locking means employed for locklng the vanes against cambering,

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on line 6 6 of Figure4 2. l 4

Figure 7 is a view on a longitudinal diametrigo cal plane of a modied type of bomb, y

Figure 8 is an enlarged detailed view of a section of the type shown at Figure 'l and included within the circle B of Figure Figure 9 is a detailed view partly in elevation 25 and partly in section of the part enclosed within the circle 8 of Figure '7,

Figure 10 is an enlarged detailed view of the part enclosed within the circle I il of Figure 7, and

Figure 11 is an end view of the bomb as indiw cated by the, arrow Il at Figure 7.

Like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

The bomb of the type shown at Figure l, more especially, is provided with a body which will 95 preferably be cylindrical, and is provided with a. chamber for receiving anexplosive charge at 2 I. The body 20 will obviously be of heavy stressresisting material, to accommodate the explosion of the explosive mixture 2|. 4o

Within the explosive mixture 2|, preferably along the axis of the body, a booster 22 is provided, of substantially the usual and ordinal-y type, Ahaving a primer 23 in communication with. the booster in the manner well known in the art. g5 The body will preferably be provided with a conical shell 24, largely for the purpose of streamlining the organization, and at the apex of this cone, a'nut 25 wi-ll engage the rod 26 which carries the firingl pin 21. The ring pin is normally 50 supported out of engagement with the primer 23 by a spring 28, but the spring is so arranged as to yield under impact when the nut has been removed, and to thereby engage the primer 23 with suillcient force for detonating said primer. 56

For the purpose of removing the nut after the bomb has been launched, ns 29 are provided integral with or rigidly connected to the nut, whereby the air slip tends to rotate the ns 29 and nut 25 to release the rod 25 to permit the ldetonation upon impact.

The conical shell 24 alsosupports the fins 30 which are pivoted to said shell at 2l, whereby when said ns are released, they may automatically move to the position shown atFlgure 4,

but means is provided to accomplish such move- A the fins are held'by means of levers 33 rigidlyv connected with the pivots 3l and engaging in slots 34 in a block 35 slidable upon an angular sleeve 36 through which sleeve extends the rod 28.

'Ihe locking just above mentioned `is provide by a .collar 31 mounted to slide upon the lar sleeve but held byV a set screw 38 which may be loosened so that the collar 3l? may be moved upwardly along the angular sleeve 38 to any 2elected position, as indicated at 38 in Figure A spring 39 is positioned to exert a lift upon the block 35 when the collar 31 is moved to release said block. Before launching the bomb,

AThe projectile 40 is held in position in any approved manner, as by a set screw 43, which, natn urally, is sheared, as .the projectile 40 is discharged.

The end of the body 20 carrying this projectile is also streamlined by a casing 44. Preferably, a rod will extend from the apex of the shell M to the projectile 49 and by reason of nuts 45 .and 41, aids in maintaining the projectile 40 in position.

The propeller fins 29 and nut 25 are held against accidental displacement by means of a cord or cable 48 which is attached to anyA part of the rack or craft structure, and is broken when the bomb is released'. The cable passes through an eye 49 and is provided with a knot or other obstruction 50 after passing through a perforation in one of the iins 29.

The type shown at Figure 'l varies somewhat both in its structure and operation from the type shown at Figure 1. In this modiilcation, the housing 20' also is provided with a charge of explosive 2|' and a booster 22', as found in. the structure shown at Figure l. Also, a projectile 40' is inserted into the end oi! the body 20' in this case by means of a plug 5l which is attached to the projectile 40 by means oi a threaded part 52, and all are maintained-within thebody 29 by the threaded connection 53 with the booster V22. This projectile I0 is intended for contact explosion subsequent to the explosion of the explosive charge 2l.l

The initial explosion is provided by means of a primer 54 communicating with the booster 22',

alsace and a ilring pin l5 ils normally supported out of contact with the primer by a spring 58. A hammer 51 is fulcrumed at 53 and pivoted to a rod 59 which is mounted to slide within a sleeve 60 secured rigidly to the body 20' and extending beyond the limits of the bomb,` providing at its extreme end a foot 6I for contact. 'I'he rodV 59 is threadedrat 82, and a nut 63 is applied thereto to prevent the actuation of the hammer 51. This nut 63 isv provided with vanes 64 whereby during the travel of the bomb the vanes B4 tend to unscrew the nut 53 to permit the sliding action oi said rod upon contact.4

As a further preventive of the accidental actuation of the nring pin 55 and the discharge of the explosive charge 2i', a pin 65 is inserted vthrough the conical shell 24' and provided with threads 66, the pin engaging undera head 61 and'manually actuated by a knurled head 68. Prior to launching, the pin B5 is removed, depending upon the nut S3 to protect the hammer 51 against actuation. This type of bomb is also provided with ns 30', but unlike the ilns 39 shown at Figure l, these ns do not camber.

The stabilizing eiect produced by the cambering of the iins, described in regard to Figure 1, is brought about in this instance by a gyros'cope comprising a weighted wheel 59 journaled at 10. and through a train of gears 1I connected with the propeller 12 so that in the descent of the bomb, lthe air slip acting upon the propeller fins 12 will actuate the gyroscope to stabilize the trajectory of the bomb in the usual well known manner.

Both of the propellers 12 and 64 are held against rotation and for protecting purposes, by means of the cord or cable 49' which is connected, as before described, to any part of the aircraft or rack. In this instance, in addition to the eye bolt 49 and 5I, as shown at Figure 1, a. second loop or eye bolt 13 is provided upon the sleeve 60 and the other end o! the cable 49' is provided with a knot or obstruction 14 after passing through a perforation in the propeller 64.

The projectile 49' is provided with a booster 15 with a primer 'I9 positioned to be iired by the firing pin 11, yieldingly supported by the spring 1I. The firing pin 11 is provided with a contact head 19 which, however, is normally caged within a'cap Il to prevent accidental ignition. Before the bomb is launched, the cap is manually removed whereby the head 19 is in position to make engagement with any engaged object.

In operation, the type shown at Figure l is rackedV by initially engaging the vanes 32 and moving the pin 33 upwardly a distance selected, depending upon the altitude. The cable 48 is attached to some part of the aircraft or crate.`

lnut 25 and release the rod 26. 'I'his takes place duringthe descent of the bomb, and as soonas the nut 25 has been released, the bomb is in condition for action upon impact.

When the apex of the conical shell 44 engages with armor or the like, either with or without the presence of the rod 45, the resistance is such that the momentum Aot the rod 26 will engage the primertoignitetheboosterwhichinturnq of time is required for this functioning. During this period the body 20, under the influence of its momentum, will continue to move towards the surface being struck. This movement is resisted by the structure of the casing 44 as it is crumpled and destroyed. Hence, the projectile is fired substantially simultaneous with the lower end of the body reaching the surface being struck.

Assuming that the impact has been against the armor of a ship, the initial discharge of the charge 2i will act against the projectile 40 and cause said projectile 40 to penetrate the armor and simultaneously to ignite the f use 42. It will be obvious, of course, that the impact has crushed the shell 44 and rod 45, and that the projectile is, therefore, relatively free from hindrance to penetrate the armor. After penetrating, the charge Within the projectile 40 will be ignited from the action of the fuse and the explosion of the projectile within the armor will demolish the adjacent articles.

'I'he type shown at ligureV 2 is not intended for penetrating armor, but for fortifications and other structures, more easily penetrated. 'I'he action of the bomb shown at Figure 2 will be the same as above described, except that the original `detonation results from the engagement of the foot El with the structure. This, through the structure-described, denotes the charge 2l' to project the projectile 40 and its plug 5I, which later impactsthe structure by the foot 19, the

cap 80 having been removed and the booster 15 ignited and through its action, the charge 4I In both types the initial discharge of the projectile is brought about by contact with the structure, the projectile being discharged thereby for subsequent explosion, in the one case by the time fuse-in the other, by contact, but in both instances the explosion occurring in the projectile subsequent to the initial discharge is intended as a. demolition explosion.

While the projectiles 40 and 40 have been described as charged only with an explosive, it

is obvious that gas or chemicals may be charged in these projectiles to operate inthe usualwell known manner upon the explosion of the charge necessary for the fragmentation of the projectile,

whereupon the chemicals andthe gas will be liberated.

It is notable that the pins 3U impart a spinning motion to the entire bomb which action'maintains the bomb in position during falling. spinning movement is also effective to hold the bomb in an upright position against any surface which the `bomb strikes until the charge therein is' exploded to project the projectile. This is important as it insures an effective directioning of the projectile-'to better penetrate the surfacelt engages.

Of course, the aerial bomb illustrated may be modiiied and changed in various ways without departing from the invention herein set forth and hereinafter claimed.

I claim: i l

l. An aerial bomb comprising a hollow body, a

`projectile closing the forward end of the hollow body to form a chamber, a projecting charge within the chamber for projecting the projectile forwardly in the direction of flight of the bomb, a primer positioned to ignite the projecting charge, means to energize the primer upon impact of the bomb, and means to transmit the ignition from the projecting charge to the explosive charge in the projectile. l

2. An aerial bomb comprising a hollow body for receiving a projectile charge, a yprojectile closing the forward end of the hollow body to form a chamber, a primer adapted to ignite the projecting charge, an explosive charge in the projectile,l

a fuse forming communication between the projecting chamber and the explosive charge, and means to energize the primer upon impact of the bomb with some other object.

3. An aerial bomb comprising a body having an explosive projectile, means to project the explosive projectile, flns carried by the bomb normally in a plane parallel with the axis of the bomb, means tending to pivot the fins, manual means-for holding the fins against pivoting, and means to release the ns upon launching the bomb.

4. An aerial bomb comprising a body having a projecting charge and an explosive projectile, fins pivoted to the bomb, means tending to hold the fins parallel to the major axis of the bomb, and means tending to pivot the fins upon release of the holding means. i

5. An aerial bomb comprising a body having a projecting charge and an explosive projectile, fins pivoted to the body, a block mounted to slide along the major axis of the bomb, means connecting the block tending to pivot the fins, a

spring for actuating the block, and manual means NORMAN N. BOOKER. 

